Fabius and Kerry discuss Iran nuclear talks

US Secretary of State John Kerry and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius met here Saturday for bilateral talks to iron out "divergences" on their positions relative to a prospective agreement with Iran on its controversial nuclear programme.
In a press statement after the talks, both men said that they were in agreement on the need for "a solid" agreement that would permit Iran to develop a civilian nuclear programme and they also said that the current proposal would need to be firmer relative to controls and time-frames and to be sure Iran will renounce any ideal of developing a nuclear weapon.
"We share the aim of a solid agreement that would allow Iran to pursue a civilian nuclear programme, but by demonstrating concretely and with certainty that it renounces any (military) objectives," Fabius told reporters in a joint statement with Kerry.
"And this should be reflected in the discussions and the eventual agreement," he added.
Negotiations with Iran are due to resume in the coming days and the deadline for a full agreement has been set for March 31, but deadlines have been extended in the past.
For his part, Kerry, who was briefing Fabius on his recent talks with the Iranian side in Switzerland, said he felt he and Fabius were "on the same page" and agreed the current proposals needed to be made firmer.
He also said that the international community was not under pressure to accept any agreement with Iran and should seek "the right deal" which would end the impasse with Tehran.
The UN Security Council has voted four sanctions' resolutions against Iran since 2006 over the Iranian nuclear programme and the EU, US and other countries have also taken individual sanctions over this issue.
Some progress in recent months has allowed for a limited easing of these punitive measures and all sanctions would be progressively lifted if a full agreement is reached whereby Iran would restrict uranium enrichment, allow unfettered inspections of facilities and, most of all, clearly renounce any development of a military component of its nuclear programme.
The Paris talks Saturday are due to be expanded later to include Germany, Britain and the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini.
The officials are also to discuss the ongoing fight against ISIL in Iraq and Syria.